Closure for waterproof garments



July 8, 1952 L. E. r-:QGossNER 2,602,208

CLOSURE FOR WATERPROOF GARMENTS Filed March 15, 1949 7a4/MM@ ATTORNEYS`ible opening for the covers.

Patented July 8, 1952 TES CLOSURE 'FOR WATERPROOF GARMENTS Louis ErnestElwin Gassner, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to Elro, Inc., SanFrancisco, Calii, a

corporation ofy California Application March 15, 1949, SeralNo. 81,460

Thisinvention ,relates toa closure :for covers, and more particularly to.a water-tight closure forwater-proofcovers, such as garmentaor such aswould be adapted to enclose boxes, luggage, and the like.

It is an object of this invention to improve water-proof covers of theabove-mentioned types by'providing for such covers .a water-tightelosure adapted to also constitute a readily access- By way ofillustration and not ci limitation, Ithe water-tight Aclosure oi Atheinvention is 'particularly adapted vto improve the water-tightnesscharacteristic of gar-ments especially intended to b e water-proof innature, such, for example, as are usedy by members .of the armedforces,Sportsmen, andthe like. In this vein, the invention relates Ymorespecifically to the provision of Water-tight closure means for pockets,nya and other useful .openings in `such wearing apparel.

It is a further object of lthe invention to provide a water-tight sealwhich may-bc readily incorporated into a cover construction; which maybe easily operated by the vattendant or wearer to gain access; and whichwill avoid unnecessary bulkiness of the cover in which it isincorporated.

As distinguished from the well-known and conventional form ofwater-tight closure operable through the provision of abutting sealinglips, or spaced pairs vof such lips, with a slide fastener therebeneathor between the pairs of lips vand' in alignment therewith, thewater-tight closure of the instant invention is yoperable through theprovision of a raisable ap Vor panel extending over and latterly pastthe primary fastener joint rand into sealing engagement with a member orlip fixed in relation to and laterally offset with respect to saidfastener, with said sealing engagement being maintained during allpositions of flexure of the closure by secondary fastening meansconstituted by an oppositely extending flap or panel in overlyingrelation to the sealing flap adapted to be secured to the cover adjacentthe fixed side of the sealing iiap.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the drawing forming partof this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a sectional View of aportion of a garment embodying the water-tight closure of the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan View of the closure device of Figure l with the coverflap partially turned back; and

1 claim. (oies- 201) YFigure 3 isa sectional View `of, the nature ofFigure 1 but showing a modification vof `the closureof the invention.

Referring `to the drawing, and specifically to that embodiment of theclosure shownv in Figures l and 2, the numerals il) and Vl2 representpanels `of a garment, for example, withedges in abutting relation as atIt between which access is desired tothe inner wearing apparel or.person of the wearer. iassumed that the closure being described is apocket closure. It is here desired that awatertight closure be providedfor the abutting `edges of the `panels `lll and l2. .,g

Adjacent the inner edge of the panelli there is provided a raisedshoulder L6, having the characteristicsA hereinafter described for interlocking relationship with complemental parts of lthe underside of Aanoverlapping flange, I3 on carried by `panel it there -is provided alipk'iil which is adapted to be snugly received lna cornplemental recess22v of panel l2. This provides 1a .Water-tight joint as an offsetcontinuation of the joint or parting line itl between the inner edges ofthe panels kIl] and l2.

The -`flangepll of vpanel l2 extends ,beyond the aforementionedwater-tight joint .constituted by lip :2,0 and recess22 to overlie theVshoulder i6 of panel .llLand at its outer end it is provided -with a`dovmwardly .extending flange .2li having an `inwardly turned lip 2-8adapted to t snugly within the recess 28 in shoulder |16. The under--side of the lip 26 is preferably in sealing engagey -ment with panelIt, as indicated .at-3i).

`From the foregoing it will be understood that there is provided aprimary watertight closure at the intert of the lip 20 with the recess22, of the panels l0 and l2, respectively, and a secondary seal at thepoint of intert of the lip 26 with the recess 28. In the absence offlexure of the garment in normal usage it will be appreciated that theinterlocking characteristics of the primary and secondary closures wouldsuffice to exclude water. However, since it is anticipated that theaverage garment and its various components will be flexed repeatedlyduring normal usage and wear, it is desirable that suitable retainermeans be provided to insure the inter- In this particularV instance itmay be locked relationship of the parts hereinabove described. This maytake the simplified form of a flexible strip 32, cemented or otherwisesecured to the panel I as at 34, in the proximity of the secondaryclosure mentioned above, which strip extends therefrom over both primaryand secondary closures and has its opposite edge secured to the panel I2by means of a conventional slide fastener closure 36 carried in part bystrip 32 and in part by a strip 38v which is cemented or otherwise,secured to the panel I2. This auxiliary retainer serves to compress theprimary and secondary closures and to keep the interlocking partsthereof in proper relationship.

The ends of shoulder I6 and the overlying ange I8 are rounded off attheir ends, as indicated at 40 in Figure 2. In order to provide foraccess to the flange I8, it will be noted that in conjunction with thelongitudinally extending slide fastener closure 36 there is alsoprovided a transversely extending slide fastener closure 42 carried inpart by the main or cover strip 32 and in part by a strip 44 secured tothe base material of the closure contiguous with panels I0 and I2. Asecond transversely extending slide fastener closure may be provided atthe opposite end of slide fastener closure 36, or such second slidefastener may be dispensed with by extending the slide fastener 36 beyondthe rounded end of ange I8, in which case the cover strip 32 may befreely turned back as `shown in Figure 2 to obtain access to the flangeI8.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that the operationof the device is extremelyV simple. Initial separation occurs bymanipulation of the slide fastener closures 36 and 42 to free the coverpanel 32 which may then be swung back as indicatedin Figure 2. Access isthus provided for disengagement of the lip 26 of ange I8 from the recess28 which may be accomplished by inserting the fingers partially underthe fiange 24. Flange I8 is then peeled back for separation of the lip20 from the recess 22.

A modied form of the closure of the invention is shown in Figure 3, andin this embodiment elements of the closure corresponding to likeelements of the closure of Figure 1 have been designated by the samereference numbers. In general the form of the closure of Figure 3 isbasically the same as that of Figure l, and further discussion of theformer is needed only insofar as there is a variance with the latter.

It will be noted that the combined height of the shoulder I6 and ange I8of Figure 3 is relatively greater than it is for the same elements inFigure 1, and that there is a resultant sharper change in direction ofthe cover panel 32, as indicated at 46. This, combined with the tautnessof cover panel 32, as indicated at 48, makes for the application of ahighly efficient holding force by the cover panel 32 to the flange I8,thus serving to very effectively maintain the flange I8 in sealingrelation to the shoulder I6. It will be further noted that I haveprovided the upper surface of the shoulder I6 with a seepage arresterelement 58, preferably of chamois or leather, bonded or otherwisesecured to the shoulder I6, and that the underside of the flange I8 isprovided with a recess 52 complementary to element 50. The seepagearrester is provided as an additional safeguard of a washer type toensure against even minor moisture seepage into the location of the lip20 and recess 22.

Additionally, the closure of Figure 3 varies from that of Figure 1 inthe provision of a conventional slide fastener 54 between the lip 20 andjoint I4. The fastener 54 serves to prevent disturbance to the sealingjoint constituted by the lip 20, recess 22 and panel edge joint I4,which disturbance might ensue from undue or exaggerated flexure of theclosure. When the flange I8 is peeled back the fastener 54 may be openedto provide access through the joint I4 to the pocket, or the like, forwhich the described structure serves as a closure.

What I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

In a sealing closure for the abutting edges of two pieces of fabric, anupstanding flattened shoulder disposed longitudinally of the rst of saidedges, outwardly extending lips longitudinally disposed along the upperextremities of said shoulder, the inner of said longitudinal lipsforming a fluid-tight seal with a longitudinally extending recessdisposed adjacent the upper extremity of the second of said edges, alaterally extending iiange made integral with the upper extremity ofsaid second edge and extending over said upstanding shoulder on said rstedge, a downwardly and inwardly curved lateral strip on said flangefitting over the outer of the lips of said shoulder in fluid-tightengagement therewith, and a cover strip affixed on the first of saidedges close to the edge of said shoulder extending over said shoulderand flange in tight bearing relation therewith and removably afxedinwardly of said second edge.

L. E. ELWIN GO-SSNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,887,741 'Irottet Nov. 15, 19321,959,318 Sundback May 15, 1934 2,141,900 Brown Dec. 27, 1938 2,306,488Morner Dec. 29, 1942 2,519,290 Saltz Aug. 15, 1950 OTHER REFERENCESAllerton, abstract of application Serial Number 581,016, publishedAugust 16, 1949 in Class 24- 207, 625 O. G. 837.

